1. Field of the Invention
A resilient connector is provided for maintaining an electrical conductor in side-by-side conductive engagement with a bus bar, including a generally loop- or O-shaped contact body having a first end portion, an intermediate portion arranged generally orthogonally relative to the first end portion, and a second end portion arranged at an acute angle relative to the intermediate portion, the contact first end portion containing a window opening and the second contact end portion being bendable from a first position adjacent a first edge of the window remote from the intermediate portion to a second position adjacent a second window edge adjacent the intermediate portion, thereby to permit introduction within the window of the conductor and the bus bar in side-by-side electrically conductive relation, characterized by the provision of a stop member within the contact body to prevent deformation of the second contact end portion beyond the second position.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
It is known in the patented prior art to provide resilient connectors for maintaining an electrical conductor in electrically-conductive side-by-side relation with a bus bar, the connector having a generally loop- or O-shaped contact body having a first end portion arranged generally normal to an intermediate portion, and a second end portion arranged at an acute angle relative to the intermediate portion, the first end portion containing a window opening for receiving the conductor and the bus bar. The second end portion normally biases the conductor and the bus bar toward the edge of the window that is remote from the intermediate portion. An example of such a resilient connector is presented by the German Gebrauchsmuster No. DE-GE 295 14 509 U 1 published Dec. 12, 1995. Such resilient connectors are particularly useful in connection with so-called terminal blocktype arrangements wherein a plurality of synthetic plastic blocks are assembled to form a multiple connecting block. In this arrangement, a previously assembled subassembly including a bus bar and a resilient compression member is inserted laterally into a given housing. In this arrangement, there is no problem in preventing excessive stressing and permanent deformation of the resilient connector. To this end, the previously assembled bus bar and resilient connector assembly is maintained on s stop cam that is arranged on the plastic housing and that comes to rest inside the loop-shaped bent spring and limits the resilient travel of the movable spring portion relative to the overall dimensions of the component.
The aforementioned stop means cannot be used with fixed-pole housings having resilient connections for electrical connectors. The significance of such fixed-pole housings increases particularly in the area of high pole numbers and, simultaneously, very low grid intervals for reasons of production engineering, technical function and installation. Here it is impossible to insert protective means for preventing overstretch deformation, as in the case of the aforementioned terminal block type, because the bus bar and the resilient connector must normally be inserted from above or from below the housing chamber, and in the process a synthetic plastic cam or the like cannot be inserted that protrudes into the interior or the loop- or O-shaped contact.
In the aforementioned German Gebrauchsmuster No. 295 14 509 U |, a stop portion is formed on one of the movable resilient connector portions, or on the bus bar itself, thereby to limit the extent of resilient travel in the opening direction. One problem associated with such stop means is that complex machining or metalworking techniques are required to produce the stop extensions on the contact parts or on the bus bar, and complicated tools are required for their manufacture. Furthermore, it is difficult to assemble the sheet metal parts, owing to their shapes and the various assembly possibilities.
The present invention was developed to avoid the above and other drawbacks of the known types of resilient connectors, and to provide an improved resilient connector assembly that will positively prevent deformation through over-stressing of the moveable parts of the connector, together with simple assembly procedures and at a reasonable cost.